In 2008, DOE conducted a study of the whereabouts of 2005 Solar Decathlon entries, and the results are posted here. Thankfully, true to the nature of the competition they were designed for, all of these houses have now been put to good use. This outcome is in stark contrast to the 2002 Decathlon entries, cataloged here, almost all of which were destroyed or are not longer used.

I recently had an opportunity to view the FIU Solar Decathlon house while the surrounding eco-park was still under construction. I’m an energy engineer. So, this visit was a real treat for me. Imagine how an aviator would feel visiting an SR-71 in a newly built flight museum - it was a pretty similar experience. Here is an image of me peaking into the window of the FIU house.

Called “Engawa” (a traditional Japanese wooden porch) FIU’s entry did not finish well in the overall 2005 Solar Decathlon competition. However, the house was a top finisher in the Energy Balance Contest. To date, it is the only entry from any Florida university. Now it is being put to excellent use as an educational and fundraising piece for energy engineering research. As described in an FIU press release, “Brick by brick: College of Engineering and Computing building park to honor alumni and friends,” a pathway of sponsored bricks is being built from the engineering building to the FIU Decathlon house as a bridge between past and present to honor alumni and friends of the school.

It won't be too much longer and hardware design, as we used to know it, will be remembered alongside the slide rule and the Karnaugh map. You will need to move beyond those familiar bits and bytes into the new world of software centric design.

People who want to take advantage of solar energy in their homes no longer need to install a bolt-on solar-panel system atop their houses -- they can integrate solar-energy-harvesting shingles directing into an existing or new roof instead.

Kaspersky Labs indicated at its February meeting that cyber attacks are far more sophisticated than previous thought. It turns out even air-gapping (disconnecting computers from the Internet to protect against cyber intrusion) isn’t a foolproof way to avoid getting hacked. And Kaspersky implied the NSA is the smartest attacker.

Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.